Books written by Bob Butera & the YogaLife Institute Teaching Team

As Yoga Educators, we are continually inspired by our students. Our many years of teaching experience and desire to make yoga philosophy and practice accessible to more people have caused us to write a few book over years - and there are few more new ones on the horizon! All of our books are available at the YogaLife bookstore and online at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and many places where fine books are sold.

Body Mindful Yoga: Create a Powerful and Affirming Relationship with Your Body by Robert Butera, Ph.D and Jennifer Kreatsoulas, Ph.D.

November 2018, Llewellyn Worldwide

Body Mindful Yoga explores the relationship between body image and language and seeks to empower readers to create affirming relationships with their bodies. The first half of the book guides readers through insightful Yoga philosophies and self-study exercises to help transform attitudes that keep them stuck in disempowering body narratives influenced by personal beliefs and social messages.

The second half of the book teaches a variety of mental, physical, auditory, and visual Yoga practices for readers to integrate new, affirming "body mindful" language into their inner dialogue. In the final section, Body Mindful Yoga provides tools and tips for how to live "body mindfully," meaning to consciously raise each other up through language that is not dependent on how well our bodies and lives match external values and ideals. Ultimately, Body Mindful Yoga leads readers to cultivate their great power of language as a tool for self-validation and a body affirming life.

Yoga Therapy: A Personalized Approach for Your Active Lifestyle

by Kristen Butera and Staffan Elgelid

March 2017, Human Kinetics

Yoga is more popular now than ever. The benefits are recognized worldwide, and athletes and therapists rely on the practice. Yet its appeal is as varied as those who practice it. Regardless of your activity level and fitness background, yoga is truly for you.

Yoga Therapy: A Personalized Approach for Your Active Lifestyle will help you see your daily activities in a new light by giving you a new understanding of movement. Whether playing sports or exercising for fitness, you’ll recognize your movement patterns and identify the poses to make them more efficient. With detailed instructions and photos, you’ll be guided through exercises, breathing, and visualization techniques to improve your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Comprehensive and accessible, Yoga Therapy demonstrates the most effective poses for mobility, strength, recovery and balance as well as techniques to aid relaxation and help with stress management.

No matter your age, experience, or desired goal, Yoga Therapy will empower you to create personalized approaches that are as unique as you are and learn how to adapt your practice to your changing needs and goals throughout life.

Holistic, practical, and student-centered, this guide offers you the tools and freedom to delve deep into your interior landscape and create your own comprehensive yoga program—a program that, like the world around us, changes from year to year and day to day. The lasting benefits of these transformative yoga practices encompass health, relationships, work, relaxation, meditation, and spirituality.

Praise and Endorsements for Yoga Therapy for Stress and Anxiety

“Yoga Therapy for Stress and Anxiety brings readers a comprehensive and extremely accessible guide for modern health. Grounded in the ancient practices, the three authors weave modern understanding into practical tools that will serve all of us far into the future.” – Matthew J. Taylor, PT, PhD, E-RYT 500

“Beginning by noting the prevalence of complaints about stress in today’s world, YogaLife Institute founder Butera, psychotherapist Byron, and physical therapy professor Elgelid present a well-organized guide to using yoga to deal with this problem…for stressed-out yoga fans interested in a change for the better, this book could be a valuable beginning.” – Publishers Weekly

“Yoga Therapy for Stress and Anxiety is an inclusive self-care manual that includes inspirational exercises paired with appropriate yoga postures. This book will assist with mind-body harmony …no matter what level of yoga experience.” - Wanda Davis, M.Sc., B.Ed.

Engage in the process of self-inquiry and understanding with expert teacher Robert Butera. All meditation methods are valid forms of practice, but they don’t fit everyone alike. Meditation for Your Life explains the six basic forms and guides readers in identifying which ones suit them best. Questions and answers, exercises, and journaling engage readers in learning what steps they can take to make meditation (and its benefits) an enduring part of their lives. Wellness and inner calm are achievable goals with suitable meditation styles—using techniques of breathwork or visualization, mantra or devotion, mindfulness or contemplation. Includes special emphasis on overcoming frequent blocks to inner growth.

Praise and Endorsements for Meditation for Your Life

“Highly recommended for teachers, students and health professionals.” —Larry Payne, PhD, Co-Author, Yoga for Dummies, Yoga Rx, and The Business of Teaching Yoga

“Grounded in age-old traditions yet using contemporary research, this book helps readers learn about the benefits of meditation and provides foundational instructions.”—Christopher Key Chapple PhD, author of Yoga and the Luminous

“You could have no better guide through the 6 major meditation styles than master yogi and scholar Robert Butera . . . Whether you teach meditation or are taking your first step into practice, this book belongs by your cushion!” —Amy Weintraub, MFA, ERYT-500, founder of the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute, and author Yoga for Depression and Yoga Skills for Therapists

“Butera packs his book with insightful information for both beginners and more experienced meditators who want to tailor a practice to their individual needs. This manual can keep you occupied for months, even years – especially if you refer to it regularly as your practice evolves.” - Yoga Journal, Nov 2012

“Meditation for Your Life takes both the novice and veteran meditator on experiential discovery tour to refine, remind and invite the reader to practice. The careful treatment of familial faith practices is sensitive, but direct, while allowing readers to understand they have probably had meditative experiences under different names in their past. The text also lends itself as a great study guide for Yoga teacher trainings with transferable embodied lessons for teachers to share with their future students.”- Matthew J. Taylor, PT, PhD, E-RYT 500, Professional Yoga Therapist & creator of The Dynamic Systems Rehabilitation (DSR) Method.

The Pure Heart of Yoga: TenEssential Steps for Personal Transformation by Robert Butera, PhD

September 2009, Llewellyn Worldwide

Inner stillness. Perfect awareness. True beauty. Yoga is much more than just a physical activity. It is a conscious lifestyle that brings about a profound spiritual and personal transformation. This book on yoga invites you to experience yoga as the ancient masters intended it-a holistic way of life that unites the body, mind, and spirit for complete health and well-being.

With clear instruction, Dr. Robert Butera guides you through ten steps on the path of yoga that are based on traditional yogic principles and practices, yet designed to fit seamlessly into your life. Yoga enthusiasts of all kinds will discover effective tools for creating a life of healthful beauty and inner peace.

Praise and Endorsements for The Pure Heart of Yoga

"The Pure Heart of Yoga will bring increased depth to your yoga practice...It is an excellent book: thoughtful, reflective, deep and accessible." - Eleanor Criswell, Ed.D., author of How Yoga Works

"Dr. Butera's hard work and clarity on the subject of yoga is felt by us all. Yoga asanas are ultimately leading to the expansion of consciousness. The psychophysical practice of yoga is the main focus." - Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji Yogendra, authors and directors of the Yoga Institute of Mumbai, India

"Robert Butera's book is an important presentation of the deeper meaning of yoga postures that allows us to experience their full potential for balance and transformation." - Joseph LePage, founder of Integrative Yoga Therapy

"The Pure Heart of Yoga offers an illuminating exploration of the psychological and spiritual dimensions of the yoga asanas. It is an important contribution to weaving the asanas into the 8-fold fabric of Hatha Yoga." - Charles Eisenstein, author of Yoga of Eating

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Mindful Living by Bob Butera and Erin Byron

September 2016, Llewellyn Worldwide

Enhance your awareness, gain higher focus and happiness, and improve all levels of your health with the discussions and supportive practices in this guide to mindful living.

Bob & Erin curated, edited and contributed to the book that also features a number of leading meditation and mindfulness experts, including Michael Bernard Beckwith, Jack Canfield, Thomas Moore, Cyndi Dale, Guy Finley, and many others—Llewellyn's Complete Book of Mindful Living shows you how to develop your well-being and overcome the obstacles that stand in your way.

A comprehensive gathering of visionary teachers and authors, this book provides inspiration, discussion, and specific practices around the transformative applications of mindfulness: basic understanding and practices, better health, loving your body, reaching your potential, and connecting to subtle energy and spirit.